Just in from the hotness desk: Jeremy Squires has a new single out, “Drift,” which sounds like some straight lonely heart pulling out of the train station in the rain type of shit.
This is probably your shape and size if you’ve got an early Bob Dylan - but really lonely kink. Squires’ music feels like it’s moving into that Bruce Springsteen direction, including that damn harmonica, you know, the one that sounds like a bird off in the distance, yearning for some new great love or something deep and meaningful.
Listen to it here or below. It does not suck, but don’t put it on at a party. Well, that’s on you and your Hellraiser “we love suffering” tendencies if you do. Way to be awesome, and sad, Jeremy.
Well lookie here, a friend of Farce the Music, Jeremy Squires has a new record, Many Moons dropping at the end of August. To say that Squires isn’t prolific would be a disservice to how much the North Carolina troubadour puts in the work. It feels like at least once a year he’s got a new song, a new record or guest spot dropping, which in this streaming-driven music climate is a good thing.
On his new single, “Cast Spells,” Squires continues his move away from a strict traditionalist, barroom country and moving more toward a balanced Americana that has the grim reverb of Elliot Smith married with Jason Isbell’s raw honesty. The vocals on Many Moons are ghostlike as if Squires is chanting for himself, toward the unknown rather than taking the listener on a journey.
This is a notable shift in sound, Eastern Glow, Squire's last effort was a much bigger, lush record, but from this little drink of Many Moons, it looks we’re going to get a whole different side of the artist.
Check out “Cast Spells” and "Labyrinth" on Bandcamp or Spotify.
Jeremy Squires never disappoints. One of the better voices creeping out from the backroads of North Carolina, Squires is back with his new record, Poem. And once again, it’s a slow-burn stunner that reminds listeners of backyard bonfires, and tall tales told over tall boys of PBR in quiet confidence.
Poem is moody and takes what’s considered “Americana” by its ear and dares us to explore what works within the confines of genre. Much like how Lucero dove on Among the Ghosts and Jason Isbell did with The Nashville Sound. What works about Poem is that it feels like Squires set aside what he couldn’t do, but instead, focused on what was possible by testing what he was capable in the studio.
Poem is dreamy with haunting guitars that aim more towards My Bloody Valentine or Radiohead than what Squires country-inspired contemporaries are focused on and it’s imprinted all over the record. "Stargazer" and "A Calm Around" aren’t bangers but float through the collection of tunes in a haze, which is perfect considering the vibe of the record overall.
It’s also refreshing to hear songs that that feel earnest instead of trying to catch a wave or appeal to an audience that might not exist. On Poem, Squires has found much more of himself than on his previous releases, which were also solid, but this time around, this batch isn’t as self-serving, this is a man comfortable in his own skin, but also satisfied with what he does. For a lot of us, we’re always chasing that dragon that might never land, and we could all be so lucky to finally our moment as Squires has.
The back half of the record is decidedly more country but holds its presence nonetheless. If anything, the second half sounds a little more Tom Petty country than it does hard Nashville.
One thing to definitely take note of is the record’s cover. Whoever did it rules. It’s got this metal well of skulls thing going on. Super cool. Thank you for not wistfully staring out at the sunset or body of water, Jeremy.
Poem doesn’t go overboard, and no track overturns the applecart, but instead, the songs are dreary, rainy day bummers, which will forever have their places as long as people get sad and need someone else to feel their pain.
I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I do it to myself every time, always chasing deadlines or falling down the rabbit hole, reading about some odd subject that ordinary people wouldn’t spend five minutes on. Such is my life. I spent, I dunno, a good half an hour reading about flan. Yes, flan the Mexican desert.
Today, I’ve been checking my email, wandering around Youtube and wanted to do a “Rodeo of Cool Shit” post where I share stuff I think is either worth checking out or at the very least, entertaining.
My friend Michelle Hanks is a mover and shaker in the underground country world. She sends me artists to check out on the regular and one of the dudes she passed along to me was Jeremy Squires. I dig what the guy is doing. His new tune "Gift" features a slow piano that’s straight out of the Radiohead playbook, but country. It’s an odd mixture, but it works.
Jeremy is all over YouTube and Spotify, so finding his stuff won’t be very hard. The straight-ahead tunes he’s got on Spotify are in the vibe of Jason Isbell meets Bright Eyes sorta thing. It’s not the most upbeat of stuff, but worth a listen if you’re driving down a backroad somewhere on an overcast day.
When was I like, 23? My roommate and I were on the couch looking for something to watch. We stumbled on Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart in the movie “Just Friends” and were immediately rolling our eyes, groaning that we knew it was going to suck. Eventually, as the minutes passed of hate-watching, we set the remote down and laughed along, enjoying the movie.
The same exact thing happened to me this AM when I stumbled on Rising Appalachia "Scale Down." It’s so oddly satisfying. I checked it out to dismiss the song and the video but couldn’t because it’s unique and challenging. There are quick triphop bits with Lauryn Hill meets Beth Gibbons emoting about the state of the world through biting verses. The whole thing shouldn’t work, and yet, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Kinda the same way I couldn’t stop listening to that Hobo Johnson song last week when it went viral.
Two crusty folks jamming on a fiddle and a banjo out in a field. Lots of brown leather. Meat and potatoes Americana stuff I used to hear the gutter punks strumming on as I’d walk the streets of the French Quarter. Quenches a certain thirst. It’s not breaking any precedent, but it’s a damn fine song.
